MoSCoW is a prioritisation technique that can help you decide which tasks you Must/Should/Could/Won't give attention to first. Let me tell you more about it.

You are about to start a project. You did your research, considered your stakeholders, and listed objectives and specifications. You have decided most tasks, and one, in particular, has your attention. But is it the right one?

Looking at each of your specifications/objectives/tasks as you or your team:

"What would happen if I/we don't deliver this in this iteration of the design?"

What does MoSCoW stand for?

M: Must Have

Features/elements that fall in this category might be required for legal/safety reasons, or there might be no point in delivering without them (e.g. you might not have a viable product without these). These are non-negotiable product needs that you must meet for functioning. Without these, your product can't ship.

S: Should Have

These are important initiatives that are not essential, but their presence adds significant value to your product.

C: Could Have

We have now got to the details that are not high in priority when evaluating priorities.

W: Won't Have (This time) - sometimes referred to as Wish

There is always a list of elements that you are not considering essential or impacting your product at present.

Why not use high/low priorities?

When working in a group or having a longer solo project, it isn't easy to be consistent with your definition of each priority. The use of high, medium, low or 1-5 priorities are the most common. MoSCoW defines each priority more clearly and allows for their review over time.

I would not use these for most of my tasks, but when starting a project it is good to ask yourself, "do I really need to do this?"

Set these priorities before starting your next project, and let me know how it goes!